Democracy through elections has come to stay, but

the space for political engagement in Ghana is be-

coming turbulent. Several initiatives are underway

to open up the political space to facilitate dialogues

and engagements either face to face, or on different

virtual platforms. IDEG is kick-starting the process

of engagements through a weekly bulletin with di-

verse information, but mainly focusing on Govern-

ance and efforts at strengthening our fledgling de-

mocracy.

IDEG This Week will feature one major topical is-

sue which could be considered as central to the

current political discourse. This underlies the IDEG

mandate, and should nourish whatever debate and

discussions the article on the topical issue could

generate.

We will share perspectives with our readership on

what is happening on the democratic governance

stage; what initiatives are ongoing to stabilize our

young democracy; what is the level of involvement

or exclusion of key stakeholders; what is the level of

comfort or discomfort does this constituent space

provide to our individual and collective security;

what internal or external influences are contributing

to shaping our fortunes; what is our individual and/

or collective levels of responsibility for the state of

our democracy.

The maiden issue of IDEG This Week will only set

the stage for a more soul searching process, as we

step into the slippery, but sure arena of speaking to

issues, but most importantly sharing IDEG’s and

several other individual and group perspectives on

consolidating our democracy.

I wish you all a pleasant reading.

Kofi Awity

Director of Operations

Editor in Chief

N E W S L E T T E R D A T E V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1 Welcome to IDEG This Week

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Conflict Reso-

lution - the

Insider Media-

tor factor

2

Choking the

Nation…

3

Can Ghana

Afford to Fund

or Not to Fund

Political Par-

ties?

4

South-South

Cooperation

5

From the Con-

tinental Youth

Forum in Kigali

6

U.S. Delegates

meet with

IDEG on the

upcoming elec-

tions in Ghana

6

Events 7

S P E C I A L P O I N T S

O F I N T E R E S T :

Editor-in-Chief

ED’s Desk

Commentaries

Past Events

Upcoming Events

Towards Democratic Devolution, an IDEG

Proposal for Strengthening Democracy in

Ghana. - Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey, Executive

Director, IDEG

Since 2000, a political

duopoly has emerged in

Ghana’s multi-party gov-

ernance system where

two Political Parties have

become near equals in

terms of power, influ-

ence, resources, and

membership. In spite of

this equal strength, the

party that wins presidential elections monopolizes

power and resources to the exclusion of all other

political parties. The president appoints all Metro-

politan, Municipal and District Chief Executives and

30 per cent of all Assembly Members, further cen-

tralizing political and economic power in the execu-

tive. The current political structure, which relies on

the exclusionary principle of the ‘winner-takes-all’.

Indicators of the inability of the current system in

managing the new power structure include marginal-

ization and exclusion of other political parties, polar-

ization of the system, fear, the persistent threat of

violence in elections and ultimately a threat on the

general stability of the country.

The last two consecutive presidential and parliamen-

tary elections, held in 2008 and 2012, were

quite turbulent and threatened the stability of

the country’s democracy, peace and national

cohesion.

In 2012, the Supreme Court finally determined

the winner of presidential elections after eight

long months of adjudication of a petition chal-

June 17, 2016

P A G E 2

lenging the official results of the elections de-

clared by the Electoral Commission. Not only

have the outcomes of elections been disputed

but also the election campaigns themselves

have been turbulent and immersed in persisting

and growing threats of political violence. The

campaigns have been aggressive and intimidat-

ing involving physical and verbal attacks and

causing widespread fear in the public. So far

public policy issues have not dominated such

campaigns and the manifestos of the political

parties have hardly taken centre stage.

Curing the defect in the current structure will

involve adjusting the power structure through

constitutional reform. This will dismantle the

monopoly of executive and political power,

which is currently concentrated in the hands of

one political party, and re-distribute it among

many political parties (Democratic Devolution).

If this is done, the number of elected positions

would increase from one, to an additional 216

districts in the country. This structural change

would empower the electorate (citizens) to

redistribute power and to decide on who gov-

erns them. Democratic Devolution is a trans-

formative change that would radically change

the local governance system and open up local

government to partisan political elections.

Benefits

The benefits of this transformation would in-

clude:

1) Direct election of DCEs and members of

the district assembly

2) Opening up District Assemblies for com-

petitive partisan political elections will lead

to the direct Change in the scheduling of

elections (all executive elections held at

the same time)

3) Encourage inclusiveness - Opening up ex-

ecutive power to other political parties

whether in government or opposition to

participate in the executive government at

the local level would encourage inclusive-

ness. This would discourage the ‘do-or-die’

attitude that has characterized our presi-

dential elections.

4) Competitive implementation of develop-

mental projects - Development would be-

come the centre of local governance. Dis-

trict Chief Executives (DCEs) would be

forced to focus on development, as their

stay power would be dependent on the

quality of public services they provide to

citizens and the electorates.

5) Strengthen transparency and accountability

in governance due to the increased interest

of the citizenry in local level elections.

6) Fear and the threat of violence during elec-

tions minimized, elections would now in-

spire hope and confidence in good govern-

ance.

Conflict Resolution - the Insider Mediator

Factor - Ewald Garr

Insider Mediation is the process of drawing on

local people and organisations with expertise

and influence to intervene, negotiate or dia-

logue among

con f l i c t in g

parties with

the aim to

avert, man-

age or re-

solve con-

flicts that has the potential of escalating into

violence. Insiders are assumed to have pro-

found knowledge of the conflict situation as

well as close relationships with the conflict par-

ties. Coupled with being trusted and respected,

they have a higher legitimacy and an ability to

convene all relevant stakeholders and influence

their actions towards peace. In recent times

Insider Mediation has emerged as a more sus-

tainable approach to peace building. In a recent

guide - “Supporting Insider Mediation” the

UNDP (2014) noted that “insider mediators

have proved successful in ensuring peaceful

elections; facilitating dialogue, breaking political

The campaigns have been ag-

gressive and intimidating

involving physi-cal and verbal

attacks and causing wide-spread fear in

the public

“….In recent times Insider

Mediation has emerged as a

more sustaina-ble approach

to peace build-ing. In a recent

guide - “Supporting

Insider Media-tion”

P A G E 3

“take stock of

engagement between

EU, UN and regional

organizations

supporting the

development of

infrastructures for

peace in West Africa,

including support to

“insider mediation” .

“facilitate exchange between

regional and national civil

society actors in West Africa

involved in “insider media-

tion” so that they can share

lessons, and also identify

options for better engaging

with EU and UN counter-

parts to obtain the most

effective support for their

work.”

deadlocks and establishing the groundwork

for formal peace negotiations in a number of

countries.”

While conflicts continue to be a major obsta-

cle to human development, it is an inevitable

characteristic of social change. They can be as

a result of turbulent elections and political

transitions, recurrent tensions and instability,

terrorist attacks over natural resources and,

constitute some of the most contemporary

challenges to peace.

As part of efforts to facilitate exchange be-

tween actors, improve practice at national and

regional levels, and identify challenges and

opportunities, the EU and UN organised a

three-day Regional Workshop on Infrastruc-

tures for Peace in West Africa in Accra, from

June 1-3, 2016. Participants at the workshop

included national and regional actors involved

in insider mediation, regional conflict preven-

tion organizations, including national CSOs

and individuals (who have played roles similar

to insider mediation), relevant academia, as

well as officers from UNDP, UN, EU country

and regional offices. Approximately 50 partici-

pants attended the workshop.

The objectives of the workshop were:

To “take stock of engagement between EU,

UN and regional organizations supporting the

development of infrastructures for peace in

West Africa, including support to “insider

mediation” capacities, with a view to identify-

ing concrete opportunities for enhancing com-

plementarities and collaboration going for-

ward.”

To “facilitate exchange between regional and

national civil society actors in West Africa

involved in “insider mediation” so that they

can share lessons, and also identify options for

better engaging with EU and UN counterparts

to obtain the most effective support for their

work.”

Conflict need not be violent. Stakeholders can

dialogue, negotiate and compromise on the

process to change from conflict to one that is mutu-

ally satisfactory. According to the UNDP (2014),

insider mediation is important, as external mediation

is not always possible. Ensuring peace and averting

violence would require building insider and national

capacities to facilitate mediation and dialogue.

Choking the Nation… - Elorm Tamakloe

Perennial flooding within the capital city, Accra, is

not new to the Ghanaian public. With Ghana’s bi-

seasonal climate, our rains always seem to be the

near catalyst for destruction. Year after year, author-

ities and ordinary citizens alike, raise concerns about

the extent of destruction that is caused by floodwa-

ters, yet no long lasting preventive measures are put

in place. The twin fire and flood tragedies that oc-

curred on June 3rd 2015, killing over 150 individuals

at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle seemed to be the

ultimate wakeup call for the nation. Unfortunately,

like the many other disasters we’ve been afflicted

with, the June 3rd disaster seems to have been rele-

gated to the recesses of memory.

The rains that fell on the 9th of June 2016,

was the “righteous judge” that exposed the noncha-

lance of the Ghanaian public in fighting the plastic

waste menace. The city came to a standstill, motor-

ists parked their vehicles and many individuals whose

homes and offices were flooded rushed out to pre-

vent looming danger. The nation would have

breathed a sigh of relief until it was reported that

two-and-a half-year old Sharon Kyerera was swept

away by the violent currents. The events of the day

sparked outrage amongst members of the public

which led to calls for government to do “something”

about the issue.

Admittedly, governmental bodies have an

important role to play in ensuring proper infrastruc-

ture is provided; however, citizens of the nation

have an even greater role to play. It is not rare to

see major waterways in the capital choked with all

manner of plastic waste; bottles, wrappers and black

plastic bags, whose questionable content often spills

into waterways. As a people we seem to have gotten

to our wits end in the fight against the plastic waste

menace that is eating deeply into the fabric of socie-

ty. With the few active waterways we have, albeit

filled with everything impenetrable by water, the

P A G E 4

.

yearly phenomenon of flooding will be a per-

manent event in our national calendar. The

burden therefore rests on citizens and nation-

al environmental agencies to initiate localized

cleaning campaigns to ensure waterways are

cleared in order to serve their rightful pur-

poses. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) also

have a crucial role in advocating for pragmatic

measures to be put in place and also sensitiz-

ing citizens on the ill effects of plastic wastes.

In implementing these measures, we would

shift the focus from containment strategies

that we adopt, relevant only in time of a crisis

to more strategic, preventive measures that

will curb the negative effects of the rains.

Similarly, we must advocate even more

strongly for a strategic, policy driven and in-

clusive governance system, at whose core are

the needs and concerns of the Ghanaian peo-

ple rather than a governance system based on

campaign promises. It is only in adopting some

of these policies that we will be able to rise

from ashes of a retrogressive, politically unsta-

ble system of governance to a more progres-

sive, sustainable form of governance which

presents the potential of hope for the people.

Can Ghana Afford to Fund or Not to

Fund Political Parties?- Isaac Haruna

Given the role that political

parties play in democracies,

there are often regulations

that empower them but

also limit them in several

ways. Of relevance are reg-

ulations on the finances of

political parties. Majority of

the world’s democracies including the USA,

South Africa, and Japan provide public subsi-

dies for political parties. Accordingly, there

are also strong regulations that monitor and

track the private sources of political parties to

ascertain their ‘cleanliness.’ The rationale is

that without a public subsidy of political party

activities, they are likely to resort to illegal

funding sources that could have long term

political and economic development consequences

should those political parties win power.

In Ghana, there are no provisions on public funding

of political parties but laws exist to regulate political

party financing. The Political Parties Act 2000 and

the 1992 Constitution require political parties to

submit and publish detailed elections statement ex-

penditure and audited annual account respectively.

The ultimate penalty for the contravention of these

provisions is

the cancela-

tion of the

registration of

the political

party.

Nevertheless,

there is enough evidence to suggest that majority of

the political parties in Ghana fail to comply with

these legislations. The Electoral Commission of Gha-

na recently ordered political parties to submit their

audited annual financial reports by 31st May, 2016 or

face sanctions in accordance with the law. Out of

the 26 registered political parties in the country,

only seven of the political parties excluding the ma-

jor political parties – the National Democratic Con-

gress (NDC)) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) –

met this deadline.

Given that political parties in Ghana are funded pri-

vately and that laws exist to prohibit certain kinds of

private financing, there are serious implications for

parties that submit their audited accounts indicative

of a violation of the law on private financing. But

some in the academic and policy circle have argued

that if the state

fails to fund po-

litical parties,

not only does

the state forfeit

its moral right

to demand the

submission of annual audited financial report but also

political parties have no moral obligation to comply

with such regulations. While public subsidies of polit-

ical parties are a policy of choice in most democra-

cies, Ghana does not have to fund political parties

before it enforces the laws on party financing. But at

this stage in our democracy, an of enforcement of

P A G E 5

.

the law to the letter may do more harm than

good to the stability of the country, as the

registration of 19 political parties including,

the NPP and NDC, shall be cancelled in ac-

cordance with the law.

Moving forward, anecdotal evidence suggests

that compliance with political parties’ laws is

high in countries where public subsidies exist

for political parties. As one of Africa’s best

democracies, it may not be premature for

Ghana to begin to explore and implement the

best modalities of public funding of political

parties.

South-South Co-operation

Participates In the UNDP Workshop In Addis

Ababa-Mr. Kwesi Jonah

Developing countries have become critical

actors in the global socio-economic landscape.

Despite the ongoing challenges in the global

economy, some of them have attained middle

income status, some have made impressive

economic gains, posting high growth in savings

and rates of investments; whilst others have

gained a sizeable share of the global trade in

goods and services. The global south is also

home to many high quality enterprises, tech-

nological competencies and leading finance

and banking institutions; a South-South coop-

eration is therefore a key area of growth for

developing countries.

IDEG participated in the UNDP workshop

on South - South co -operation organized in

Addis Ababa’s Saro Madrid Hotel. The pur-

pose of the workshop was to discuss new

trends in South – South co-operation and its

growing importance and, to validate indica-

tors for South -South co- operation. Un-

doubtedly, the most important change in

development co-operation can be observed

in the growth in South – South co-

operation. The quantum of co-operation has

grown tremendously in recent years and new

partners have emerged and yet there is a near

total lack of information about this very im-

portant form of international development co-

operation.

Recent studies clearly indicate how very concentrat-

ed this co–operation has become. China alone ac-

counts for 71 percent of the co–operation, followed

by India, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Turkey.

South-South co-operation, in spite of its growing

importance is complementary to, and not competi-

tive with North–South co–operation. Indeed, there

is an immerging development of “Triangular co-

operation” involving co–operation between two

southern partners funded by a rich Northern part-

ner. In addition, there is a growing interest in intra–

regional trade which involves many Southern part-

ners. The BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India,

China and South Africa are giving a new impetus to

South–South Co-operation through their new devel-

opment financial institution called the New Develop-

ment Bank.

There are several challenges facing South–South co–

operation, including insufficient political will and sup-

port; the apparent disconnect between local initia-

tives and South –South co-operation; poor commu-

nication infrastructure; issues relating to ownership

of specific initiatives, etc.

These notwithstanding, South–South co- operation

offers many advantages. It brings back the issues of

what the development countries needs are – infra-

structure and technology which is simple and adapta-

ble. South–South co-operation also provides the

opportunity for countries of the South to raise their

voices in the Global Development Debate. It focuses

atten-

t i o n

o n

longer

devel-

opment strategies and concrete results. It offers

opportunity for increased capacity building initiatives

and brings into sharp focus the issues of climate

change and peace building.

IDEG participat-ed in the UNDP

workshop on South - South co

-operation or-ganized in Addis

Ababa’s Saro Madrid Hotel.

The purpose of the workshop

was to discuss new trends in South – South co-operation

and its growing importance

and, to validate indicators for

South -South co- operation.

P A G E 6

.

From the Continental Youth Forum in

Kigali - Afiba Dolphyne

The State of the Union (SOTU) Coalition in

collaboration with the Collectif des Ligues et

Association de Defense de Droits de L’Homme

(CLADHO) and African Leadership Academy

Model African Union (ALAMAU) organized a

forum dubbed Continental Youth Forum

in Kigali from June 6th to 8th 2016.

The objective of the forum was to create a

platform for young Africans who constitute

the majority of the continent’s population to

engage and exchange ideas on the ways to

solve some of the continent’s problems such

as youth unemployment. The recommenda-

tions from the meeting were to be channeled

to the AU Commission at the Summit of

Heads of States which will be held in July

2016.

The key note address was delivered by the

Honorable Minister for Youth and ICT of

Rwanda Mr. Jean Philbert Nsengimana. He

emphasized that the desire of visionary Afri-

can Leaders such as Osagyefo Dr. Nkrumah

to see Africa united and prosperous ought to

inspire young African citizens to participate in

politics and governance.

In attendance were

young Africans with

ages ranging from 18

to 35, from 27 coun-

tries across the conti-

nent. The countries

most represented

were the 10 in which

the SOTU Coalition

operates. They were

Tunisia, Kenya, Rwan-

da, Malawi, Mozam-

bique, South Africa,

Cameroun, Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. It is

perhaps also important to remark that alt-

hough Morocco is not a member of the Afri-

can Union, it was also represented.

It was stressed at the Forum that there re-

mains a lot of work to be done in the area of

advocacy towards Nation States ratification,

as only 37 out of the 54 member states of the

African Union have ratified the African Youth

Charter. The participants were therefore

urged to understand their role as drivers of

change and to appreciate that now is the right time

for them to act.

The Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) and

the Ghana SOTU Platform was represented by Afiba

Dolphyne, Kingsley Obeng-Kyereh and Daphne Lari-

ba Nabila respectively.

U.S. Delegates meet with IDEG on the up-

coming elections in Ghana

A delega-

tion from

the Bu-

reau of

Conflict

and Stabi-

lization

Opera-

tions

(CSO) a wing of the U.S. Department of State, led

by Tess McEnery, Democracy Specialist, met with

IDEG Staff, led by Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey on

Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at IDEG House.

The discussions focused on the general atmosphere

of the country on the approach of elections, and the

role IDEG, Civic Forum Initiative and other civil so-

ciety organisations are playing to ensure a peaceful,

violence free 2016 elections. Conversations covered

pre-elections and inclusive engagement with key

stakeholders, political parties and their engagements

with the Electoral Commission, security and the role

of the Police in maintaining peace and order during

the elections.

EVENTS

PAST EVENTS

Kindly note: Activities that are sensitive in nature

have not been captured in here

Tuesday, 14th June 2016 - Coco-life Women Em-

powerment Workshop at Fiesta Royal Hotel

Tuesday, 14th June 2016 – Meeting on GBC guide-

lines for political broadcast during the elections

P A G E 7

.

Wednesday, 15th June 2016 – Second College

of Humanities International Research Confer-

ence – ISSER Conference Hall

Wednesday, 15th June 2016 – GTV Breakfast

Show discussion on Voter Buying

Wednesday, 15th June 2016 – NHIS Commit-

tee meeting

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday and Wednesday, 21st and 22nd June

2016- NHIS review National stakeholder con-

sultative forum at La Palm Royal Beach hotel

Tuesday, June 21st 2016 - Technical consulta-

tion on long term national development plan

at Accra international conference Centre

Thursday, June 23, 2016 - High level dialogue

on Ghana’s Public Financial management sys-

tem at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel

Thursday, June 23, 2016 – The Launch of the

Master of Research and Public Policy pro-

gramme at the University of Ghana. Kronti ne

Akwamu lecture at the college of physicians

and surgeons.

Friday, June 24, 2016 - Presentation and

Award Ceremony for community service by

the Osei Kusi Foundation

Friday, June 24, 2016 – Meeting with DFID

and Star Ghana ( Grant partners)

The Institute for Democratic Governance

(IDEG) is an inde-

pendent, not-for-

profit, non-partisan

policy research

and advocacy insti-

tute established in

January 2000. Its

mission is to gen-

erate knowledge

and enhance the

capacity of citizens

to influence public policy choices, in order to

consolidate democratic and good governance in

Ghana and the rest of Africa.

The institute’s programmes have been organised into

five thematic areas, i.e. ‘Electoral Politics and Ac-

countability’, ‘Democracy and Nation-Building’,

“Poverty, Inequality and Inclusive Development’,

‘Civic Empowerment and Communication’, and ‘Pan-

African and Global Programmes’.

Editorial Board Kofi Awity—Editor in Chief Yvonne Boaten—Editor Maj. Gen. Carl Nii Coleman (RTD).—Member Professor S.N Woode –Member Isaac Haruna—Member Elom Tamakloe—Member Tony Esua-Mensah –Creative Director Our Online Platforms (IDEG) Facebook (high): https://www.facebook.com/

IDEGGhana

Twitter (high): https://twitter.com/IDEGGhana

Instagram (high): https://instagram.com/idegghana

Tumblr (high): http://idegghana.tumblr.com/

Flickr (high): Institute for Democratic Governance

- IDEG Ghana

YouTube (medium): https://www.youtube.com/

IDEGGhana

SlideShare (medium): http://www.slideshare.net/

IDEG-Ghana/presentations

Linked (mediun): https://www.linkedin.com/

company/institute-for-democratic-governance---

ideg-gahana?trk=biz-companies-cym

Website (low): http://www.ideg.org/newideg/

index.php

Google+ (low): IDEG Ghana

Whatsapp (low): IDEG Online +233-(0)54-435-

7752

Amazon/iTunes/Podcast (poor): Institute for Dem-

ocratic Governance - IDEG Ghana

Social Media, ICT for Development and

Good Governance

Address:

Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) No. 24 Garden Street, Intersection, Okine Avenue Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon P. O. Box CT 5767 Cantonments Accra, Ghana Tel: +233-302-543320/543295